Demarquette’s African Queen

Today I thought it would be introduce you to a bit of luxury
like never seen

here @ChocolateMission before. Demarquette is an artisan
company started up by Marc Demarquette. Although born in England, his father is
French and mother Chinese, which means his chocolates are inspired by a wide
range of cultures. Marc trained as a chocolatier in Paris, before founding his
own company in London in 2006.

At the heart of Demarquette is a passion for quality,
freshness, sustainability, and Britishness. All the chocolate is handmade at
their North Kensington base, while all the ingredients are sourced from farmers
working to the most environmentally friendly standards.

A prime example is their African Queen Truffle Collection,
which is made from cacao harvested on the Ivory Coast. It is Marc’s way of
supporting the first 20,000 farmers who adopted a new ethical way of
production.

Demarquette’s African Queen Truffles were awarded a triple
gold star in the 2014 Great Taste Award, and came in the Top 50 Foods in
Britain. What apparently makes them so special is the initial fermentation
process, which is meant to dramatically reduce the bitterness of the 68% dark
chocolate.

A stylish black box with gold lettering and red ribbon makes
them look like the perfect gift, but it all depends on how far in advance you
like to do your present shopping. As African Queen contains fresh cream, the
truffles only have a short shelf life, so are not ideal if you want to get
something ahead of time. They would however, make a great ‘of the moment’ gift.
For once the last minute buyers have an advantage.

So now we have all been lured in by the glorious
description, how do the truffles hold up? Well the chocolate’s freshness was
evident from the moment I opened the box. The aromas weren’t strong, but they
were vibrant, and I could pick out the scents of individual ingredients, from
the chocolaty dark cream to a hint of Tanzanian honey (okay, I couldn’t tell it
was Tanzanian, I’m taking their word for that).

The chocolate’s dark outer shell was soft and had earthy
tones, while the ganache was smooth, mousse-like in texture, and very fruity.
While the chocolate was in no way bitter, neither was it sweet; rather its
acidity created a rather puckering sour sensation at the back of the throat.
Underneath the ganache I discovered crispy wafer pieces that brought an
interesting contrast.

Demarquette’s African Queen truffles are without a doubt
royalty, but mingling with a monarch does not come cheap. A box of six truffles
comes with a £17.50 price tag, which equates to just short of £3 each. If you
do want to try these for yourself, I recommend joining Demarquette’s mailing
list as several times throughout the year, you will get emailed discount offers
that can range anywhere between 10% - 75% off.